


Chalk Me Down

by AuthorAlex97 (Sweetie_Curfy)



Series: A Little Anxious [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Blood, Crying, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 05:23:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16988820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetie_Curfy/pseuds/AuthorAlex97
Summary: Virgil just wanted to show Patton his drawing, but a little mishap has him running elsewhere.





	Chalk Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> With the end of finals comes the first fic I’ve posted since returning to college! (I think?) And what better way to celebrate than with another Toddler Virgil fic? I hope yinz enjoy!

The midday sun cast a soft warmth onto the ground below, just comfortable enough to go without a jacket and without feeling like you could fry an egg on the pavement. Clouds dotted the bright blue sky as birds sang and flew around; a gentle breeze rustled the trees just outside of the fencing for the backyard.

Roman had really outdone himself in creating an outside to their house in the mindscape, Patton thought.

He was kneeling in the grass in the backyard right now, just a few feet away from the back porch at the bare dirt lining the walls. A floppy sunhat shaded his face while he dug with the spade in his gloved hands. There was a box next to him half-full of plastic containers carrying the same freshly-planted pansies that sat in the garden between him and the porch.

It was quiet. Almost quiet enough that he might have forgotten about the toddler-sized anxious trait playing on the asphalt driveway just around the corner.

It wasn’t as if Virgil was making a lot of noise. When he’d woken up to tiny hands and a large jacket that morning, he had begged Patton to let him stay with him for the day, promising he’d be quiet so as not to disturb his already planned morning of gardening. Patton had told him not to worry about it, but Virgil went Roman anyway to ask for a piece of chalk to draw with. Roman, being as extra of an older brother figure as always, gave him a whole box with a rainbow of colors instead before going off on a quest in his realm.

They had been outside for a few hours by now. Virgil had done his best not do make any noise or bother Patton, but as he put the finishing touches on his drawing, he wanted nothing more than to show his dad what he’d made.

At the far end of the driveway, closest to where the road would be had there been one, the asphalt was covered in pastel colors left and right. There were hearts and storm clouds and rainbows and books, and stars and swirls and basic shapes—pretty much everything that Virgil could think of to draw was on the driveway. In the middle of all of the chaos stood two stick figures with a messy line drawn at the top of each of their heads. The tall one had glasses and a big grin, while the small one had smudges under the eyes and a smile. The figures held hands as a heart floated between them.

Virgil stood and looked over his masterpiece once more. He wanted to add more drawings to it, to impress his dad even  _more_ , but he  _really_  wanted to show him now! What if it rained and the chalk washed away?! Daddy would never see it, and all of this would have been for nothing!

No. Virgil wasn’t going to let that happen.

…At least, he wouldn’t, as long as Daddy wasn’t going to be upset about him interrupting him.

Virgil looked towards the backyard, his grip tightening on the piece of blue chalk. Daddy wouldn’t be mad if he was showing him a picture… right?

He would be happy!

Unless he thought it was terrible and yelled at him.

But Daddy wouldn’t yell at him! He hasn’t yet!

But that didn’t mean he never would.

Virgil lifted a sweater paw to his mouth and bit down. His gaze snapped back to the driveway.

It wasn’t…  _that_  bad, was it? He just wanted to make his dad smile.

The image of Patton’s huge, beaming grin popped into Virgil’s mind, and that was enough for him to steel his nerves and push forward. He turned towards the backyard with his chin up. His sleeves fell back to his side, and he began to run forward.

The next thing he knew, his shin hit something sharp, and with a big  _crash!,_ Virgil was on the ground.

He lay there for a moment in shock, a numbness spreading over his limbs. The chalk box! How could he have been so stupid to forget he’d left that there?! Now Daddy was going to come see what was wrong before he could get him, and the surprise would be ruined!

Holding back tears was already a struggle at the wave of emotions that hit him all at once, but then set in the  _pain!_  His palms felt like they were on fire, and his shin was throbbing, and his other knee  _burned!_

Virgil rolled over and stifled a sob. He couldn’t let Daddy hear this, couldn’t let the surprise be ruined, but it  _hurt, hurt, hurt—_

Holding back a wail, Virgil stood and limped as quickly as he could onto the front porch and into the house. Each rubbing of fabric against his knee felt like he was ripping a bandaid on and off again, so he reached down and lifted his pant leg away from his leg as best as he could.

He knew exactly who to go to.

 

* * *

 

 

_Wednesday:_

_-Edit next Sanders Sides script_  
                               -Edit Joystick Joyride until 6:45pm  
                               -6:45, prepare for dinner with Joan and Talyn  
                               -Return home by

Logan snapped out of his work as frantic knocking pounded on his door. He blinked steadily as he became aware of his surroundings; the moment he realized what was happening, he huffed and shot a glare at the door.

“Patton, I thought I told you not to disturb me today,” he stated. “I have plenty of work to do, and very little time to do it. Please, unless it is an emergency, wait until later to speak with me.”

He turned back to his work without a second to spare. The knocking started up again almost immediately. He sighed.

“I am being serious. If you want me to observe your gardening, it can wait.”

Silence. Logan began to relax.

And then he heard a thick sniffle, and a tiny sob.

He was on his feet in an instant, eyes glued to the door. “Virgil?”

Another sob sounded, this one louder than the first.

“Papa…!”

Logan was yanking the door open a second later, dropping to a crouch as soon as he saw Virgil bent over and clutching his leg. “What happened? Are you injured?”

Virgil sniffled and swiped at his eyes, his hand snapping right back to his knee as soon as it was able. He forced himself to nod through his grimace.

“Let me see,” Logan commanded.

Whimpering, Virgil shook his head. “It h-hurts!”

“I understand that, Virgil, but it is important that I look at it,” he said. “I need to see how severe it is so that I can best treat it and help the pain cease.”

Virgil looked at him warily, tears dripping off of his cheeks and onto the carpet; after a moment, he hesitantly lifted one hand away to reach for him. Logan’s chest tightened as he gently scooped the child into his arms and stood, paying very careful attention to make sure his knee didn’t come in contact with anything.

He wasted no time in whisking them down the stairs and towards the bathroom. As Virgil shook and cried, Logan rubbed his back and did his best to reassure him that he was okay.

“Can you tell me what caused this?” he softly asked.

Virgil sniffled and clung to him. “I-I fell…!”

“You fell? Where did that happen?”

“On the driveway,” he whimpered.

On asphalt. Of course. Roman didn’t listen to him about the benefits of a dirt driveway, and now they had an injured child on their hands. Of  _course_.

When they passed the kitchen, Logan spared a glance inside, only to find a battered Roman staring right back at him. Logan raised an eyebrow at the lock of hair that was smoldering, but his stride lost no speed. Roman took a step away from the running microwave as they passed.

“What’s happened, is Virgil alright?” he asked.

“Oh, he only fell on the driveway that  _you_  insisted was the most aesthetically pleasing and injured himself,” Logan huffed. “Nothing for you to concern yourself with.”

Guilt slapped across Roman’s expression, but Logan only caught a split second of it before he stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.

Gently, Logan placed Virgil onto the counter and swiped some of the tears away with the pad of his thumb. “It’s going to be alright, Virgil. Let’s take a look at that knee, shall we?”

Virgil sniffled and scrubbed at his eyes. “A-Am I gonna die?”

Logan stared at him for a beat, eyes wide; a moment later, his expression softened, and he put his hand on Virgil’s uninjured knee.

“No, Virgil,” he firmly reassured. “You’re going to be just fine. I would never let anything like that happen to you, alright? It’s just a small injury. I assure you, there is nothing to worry about.”

Hanging his head, Virgil nodded slowly. Logan kneeled down and reached into the cabinet under the sink to grab the first aid kit before turning back to him.

“Now, let’s get you fixed up. May I see it?”

Virgil nodded again, lifting a sweater paw to chew on as Logan took his pant leg and began to roll it up. He was extra gentle when he reached the knee, lifting it high over the—

“Oh, dear,” Logan breathed.

The skin on Virgil’s knee wasn’t just scraped up, it was simply… gone, almost. Nearly his entire kneecap was covered in a thin layer of blood; Logan was shocked it hadn’t ended up anywhere else. Carefully, he raised Virgil’s calf in an attempt to get a better view, but he dropped the idea when he let out a whine.

“That is… quite the skinned knee you’ve given yourself there, Virgil,” Logan slowly stated. “What happened that caused you to fall?”

“I-I drew on the driveway and wanted to show it to Daddy,” Virgil answered, “’Nd I fell over the chalk Ro let me use.”

“Were you running?”

“Mm-hm…”

Logan nodded, his eyes still glued to the injury. “Virgil, I’m going to change you out of your jeans and into a pair of shorts, okay? It will make it much less cumbersome to treat this if I don’t have to worry about your jeans falling and causing you any more pain.”

He waited for Virgil to nod, and then he snapped, putting him in a set of black basketball shorts. Logan was about to reach for the first aid kit, but another streak of red caught his eye; his gaze snapped to Virgil’s left shin, where a long, shallow gash bled lightly.

Raising an eyebrow, Logan looked up at him. “Virgil? Is there a reason you made no mention of this?”

Virgil’s head hung, eyes darting away from Logan; Logan held back a sigh and a lecture as he inspected the new wound.

“Are there any other injuries you’ve hidden?” he asked, as softly as he possibly could.

Virgil hesitated, but after a moment, he lowered his sweater paws and wormed his arms out from inside. He opened his palms to reveal bright red, scraped up skin—but, to Logan’s relief, no blood.

He let out the sigh and gently took the tiny hands into his own.

“Virgil, if you’re injured, you need to tell us about it, okay?” Logan quietly reprimanded. “No matter how big or small it is, or if you have another that seems bigger and more important. Neglecting to tell someone could cause it to get infected and hurt a lot more. No one will be angry; we just want you to be healthy. Okay?”

Virgil sniffled and nodded. His lips twitched down, but he appeared to be forcing them away from that. Logan watched as tears started to roll down his cheeks again.

He climbed to his feet. “Would a hug help you believe me?”

Eyes screwing shut, Virgil stifled a sob and reached for him. Logan quickly leaned forward and held him close.

It was a long moment later before Logan ran his hand up and down Virgil’s back, asking, “Was this satisfactory?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Good.” Logan pulled away and offered a soft smile. “Then let’s finally get you cleaned up.”

He took a washcloth and wet it down, rubbing a bit of soap into it before he kneeled back down and began gently wiping away at Virgil’s wounds. When he flinched at the contact, Logan wordlessly offered a hand, and Virgil took it and held it tight. They worked in silence for a long moment.

“You’re being very brave, Virgil,” Logan said.

Just as Virgil appeared to be calming down, the front door slammed open; despite it being on the other side of the closed bathroom door, Virgil practically jumped out of his skin and began to shake. Logan quickly squeezed his hand and shushed him.

“Has anyone seen Virgil?!” Patton’s voice yelled as it passed them. “ _Please_  tell me someone’s seen Virgil!”

“Relax, Padre, he and Logan are in the bathroom,” called Roman’s voice.

“Why are they—Oh, my goodness gracious, what happened to  _you_?!”

“Fire ostrich.”

“Your hair is on fire!”

Rolling his eyes, Logan set the washcloth aside and picked up a roll of gauze from the first aid kit. “Honestly, the things he comes up with…”

Virgil giggled, his voice still thick, but the smile on his face real. Logan carefully pulled his hand away and used it to hold Virgil’s leg in place as he wrapped the bandages around his knee.

Not a moment later, a gentle knock sounded against the door. Patton quietly poked his head in without waiting for a response. He took a moment to glance at the scene in front of him, and then he offered Virgil a sympathetic smile.

“Hey there, kiddo,” he said. “Heard you had a bit of a tumble, huh?”

Virgil’s lower lip began to wobble, but he bit down hard on it as he nodded. Patton let out a coo and stepped in, leaning his hip against the counter as he wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulder. “Does it hurt?”

Tucking his face into Patton’s chest, Virgil sniffled. “Mm-hm…!”

“Well, it’s a good thing you went straight to Doctor Logan then, isn’t it?” Patton replied, shooting Logan a thankful smile.

“No one in this mindscape goes straight anywhere!”

“Thank you for your unnecessary input, Roman,” Logan hollered.

“You’re just upset because I’m right!”

Logan sighed and shook his head as he secured the bandage in place and started on his shin. “I’m not wrong about it being unnecessary…”

Patton snorted and slapped a hand over his mouth. Logan glanced up and raised an amused eyebrow.

All of a sudden, Virgil burst into tears.

Patton and Logan snapped their heads towards him. “Virgil? Honey, what’s wrong?” Patton asked, pulling away to join Logan kneeling in front of him.

“Are you in pain? Is there another injury? Is there a  _new_  injury?”

Sucking in a mighty sob, Virgil shook his head. He lifted one hand to rub at his eyes while the other reached for Patton. He took the tiny grip without a second thought.

“What’s the matter, kiddo?”

Through a string of choking breaths, Virgil managed out one sentence.

“I-I di-idn’t get to sh-show you my p-p-pictu-re!”

Patton blinked. “The one in the driveway?”

Virgil wailed and nodded. “A-A-And it’s gonna—gonna be gone ‘cause it’s gonna rain or Ro’s gonna make the driveway dirt and you-you’re never gonna get to see i-i-it!”

“Oh, Virgil!”

Patton shot to his feet and wrapped Virgil in a tight hug; he rubbed small circles in the bawling toddler’s back as he rocked them back and forth. Softly, he shushed him and pressed a kiss into his hair.

“Virgil, I did see it,” Patton whispered. “When I was looking for you, before I realized you were missing, I stopped to look at it, and boy, was I amazed! You did a really nice job with it!”

Virgil sniffled. “Really…?”

“Absolutely! I especially loved the little swirls everywhere! Oh, but not as much as the little self portrait of me and you! I really liked the hair you gave us!”

In the moment of distraction, Logan swiftly taped the strip of gauze over the shallow cut and began to pack up the first aid kit. He sat back and watched for a moment as Virgil slowly calmed down, and as the worry in Patton’s eyes slowly faded.

A smile rested on Logan’s face before he climbed to his feet and brushed the dirt off of himself.

“Well, Virgil, it seems you are good to go,” he stated. “I will come change your bandages accordingly, but please do your best to—”

“Nu-uh! My hands!”

Logan blinked at the interruption. Virgil pulled away from Patton to show off the scrapes on his palms.

Oh. Of course.

Logan hesitated for a moment. True, there wasn’t much that could be done for a skin abrasion as minor as this one, but he also couldn’t just brush Virgil’s concerns off, especially after he’d just reprimanded him for not telling him about it in the first place…

“Um… well,” Logan slowly said, “I… Believe the best way to treat this sort of injury is…”

He glanced at Patton. Patton tilted his head, listening intently. For a moment, Logan couldn’t understand why he would be so interested, but then he realized that it was only natural in a father’s nature to—

Oh!

Logan straightened his posture and adjusted his glasses. “Well, it is a common myth that the best treatment for this sort of injury is to apply a parent’s kiss as needed to soothe the pain!”

An amused grin nearly split Patton’s face in half. He turned to Virgil and nodded with a hum.

Virgil blinked at the two of them with wide, puffy eyes. His gaze darted between the two of them before he raised his right palm up towards Patton, who quickly pecked a gentle kiss onto the scratches and reached for his left.

“No!”

They paused.

“No?” Patton asked. “Does it not hurt?”

Virgil violently shook his head. He stretched his left hand out towards Logan.

“I want Papa to do it!” he whimpered.

Heat rushed to Logan’s face just as rapidly as his heart swelled. His mouth opened and shut for a beat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Patton’s hands fly over his mouth as his eyebrows shot into his hairline.

Virgil’s bottom lip poked out into a pout.

“Please?”

How could Logan deny such a polite little request?

He gently took Virgil’s wrist and lifted his hand, looking the toddler in the eye as he pressed a soft kiss to his palm. Virgil gave a weak smile before he pulled his hand away and reached for Patton.

“And what do we say to Logan?” Patton asked, strategically lifting Virgil into his arms without jostling the bandages.

“Thank you, Papa.”

“Thank you, indeed,” Patton added. He looked at Logan with the most grateful expression he could muster. “Seriously, thank you so much.”

“You are very welcome. I’m glad I was able to help,” Logan replied.

The two smiled at each other.

Virgil tugged at Patton’s cardigan. “Daddy, can we go back outside?”

“Sure, kiddo,” he laughed, “But how about we stay in the backyard this time, okay? You can help me plant some flowers!”

Virgil bit his lip, curling in on himself a little. “Am I allowed…?”

Patton grinned and pressed a kiss into Virgil’s hair. “Of course you are! I’d love for you to garden with me!”

Giggling, Virgil pressed his face into Patton’s shoulder; Patton mouthed one last  _thank you_  to Logan before he turned and walked out of the bathroom.

Before they turned the corner, Virgil peered up and waved. “Bye, Papa!”

“Have fun,” Logan called.

He ended up standing in the bathroom for a few minutes long than he’d intended, simply processing the event and the emotions that accompanied it. A soft smile grew across his lips the longer he remained.

This had definitely been worth the time lost on scheduling.

Just before Logan crouched to put the first aid kit in its usual location, Roman hesitantly poked his head around the corner. Logan straightened his posture and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes?”

Roman clicked his tongue. “Hey, you, uh… seemed to do pretty well, bandaging Virgil up like that,” he said.

“Well… Yes. It is crucial to know first aid in case of emergencies,” he replied. “Thomas has taken many classes on it. You should know this.”

“Right, right,” Roman laughed. He pressed his lips together and avoided Logan’s gaze, hovering in the doorway.

Logan sighed. “Was there something you needed, or are you just going to block me from exiting and getting back to work?”

“Oh! Yes, I was… Um. I was just wondering.”

Roman played with the edge of his sleeve for a beat, and then he slowly rolled it up, revealing his arm to be covered in talon scratches and burns.

“Could you do me next?”


End file.
